Next up, an amazing wedding that was held up at Schweitzer Mountain in Northern Idaho. At this point I’m starting to wonder if I’m carrying a lucky weather charm around. The days before Kailin & Bret’s wedding the weather up on the mountain was not pleasant. I was reminded of this several times by the couple, who spent the previous days snowboarding away on the slopes. The day I was there it couldn’t have been more perfect—to the point that they actually debated whether or not they should cancel the wedding & hit the slopes one more day (ok, I don’t think the debate was that serious, but still). Of course, Kailin & Bret were thrilled, since they wanted a mountain wedding because it’s a reflection of who they are.

The other thing about weddings in the snow, the light is amazing. I love the way the light bounces around in the snow. Windows are brighter & more filled with light. Since I pay close attention to the exposure of the wedding dress to keep the details there, all the snow does is turn the rest of the ground to the same color as the wedding dress.

We had a blast. It was fun wandering through the crowds of skiers & having all of the little girls run up to Kailin, gushing over her beauty & gown.  The reception music was taken care of by a live country band who kept the dance floor packed & the night wrapped with the newlyweds jumping on one of the snowcat ski slope groomers for a once in a lifetime ride.

Now for some photos of the gorgeous bride, her groom, & their day.

A little while back I had the pleasure of spending some time with an outstanding group, the Ross family. We hung out at Mirabeau Park in Spokane Valley for a while, enjoying a beautiful light, & making some great photos. I had lots of fun & I think they did too.

The pictures don’t lie.

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I had the chance to meet up with Naomi & Sean at Manito Park in Spokane to take some engagement photos. Most of the time I spend the first part of a session trying to put my subjects at ease & get them ready to be in front of the camera. I think it was the other way around with these guys, but I learned pretty quickly that there are few people who are easier to be around than Naomi & Sean. I had a great time listening to them each give their own funny, & somewhat different versions of their ‘first meeting’ story. They each love to laugh & make each other laugh. Of course I laughed right along with them. It was easy to see why they’re getting married—they already act like an old married couple that have decades of inside jokes saved up.

Not only did they not stop laughing the whole time we were shooting, they were both very easy to photograph & patient while I set up some of the more creative photos.

I can’t wait to shoot their wedding at the Hayden Lake Country Club.

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I had the pleasure of [shooting] the Elys last week at Manito Park on Spokane’s South Hill. Talk about troopers. We wandered around the park looking for great places to shoot and all the while the kids were (at least acting like they were) having a great time. Little foot injuries or pangs of hunger weren’t nearly enough to slow down this family.

I really had a great time hanging out with these guys. The kids were so sweet & willing to try whatever I was asking—especially if it was jumping off a ledge while I had my camera on its “machine gun” setting which reminds me a ton of my own girls.  My favorite part of these photos is that  the impressions of the  personalities of everyone seems to shine through in the photos.

Then, after our session was over I saw my friend Ana wrapping up a bridal session so I hopped up on the ledge of the bridge (shhh, don’t tell my wife) & took the opportunity to shoot the shooter. That makes up the last photo in this set.

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